Another Walker
by JenD16
Summary: This is the whole series with another Walker thrown in the mix. Cassie Walker is the youngest child of William and Nora Walker.
1. Author's note

Something I want to make clear. I am following the episodes in terms of Cassie. Everything that happened in the episode is the same except the stuff that I directly write about. I am only writing scenes with Cassie because everyone already knows what happened with everyone else in the episode. The first season will remain mostly the same with just Cassie added in but once Rebecca appears then the story is going to change. For the most part it will follow the same timeline as the actual show. I hope that you all enjoy the story.

Cassie and Olivia both have brown hair and brown eyes and are about 5'6". Olivia's just touches her shoulders and is wavy. Cassie's hair is a few inches past her shoulders and is also a little wavy. Dylan has short brown hair and bright blue eyes and is about 5'10" feet. Tyler has short blonde hair and blue eyes and is also about 5'10".

**OVERALL DISCLAIMER (because I don't feel like putting one at the beginning of each chapter lol): Anyone you recognize from the show, I don't own. I do own Cassie and her school friends.**


	2. Patriarchy

Cassie Walker is the youngest child of William and Nora Walker. She is about five feet, six inches in height. She has long and wavy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She resembles her mom much more than her dad. She has a very girly figure and features, just like her mom.

"Cassie, please don't forget that your sister is coming home today." Nora reminded her seventeen year old daughter.

"I know mom." Cassie replied, grabbing her book bag off the table.

"So please try to come home right after school." Nora requested of her daughter.

"Why, so I can be present for the most uncomfortable reunion ever?" Cassie flippantly asked.

"Cassandra, you don't talk to your mother that way. And you will come home right after school." William told his daughter in his stern voice.

"Will do." Cassie flashed them both a smiled and left the house.

Cassie really did love her sister, but she knew that things would be tense between Kitty and Nora. Although maybe this is just what the two of them need to get them back on track. But then again Justin was still on a downward spiral and he needed help. She just really hoped that Kitty's visit wasn't a complete disaster.

"Cassie!" a voice called out.

Cassie immediately knew who was calling her and turned to face her best friend, Olivia.

"Hey there Liv!" Cassie replied and went over to her best friend.

"How's it going at 'Casa de la Walker'?" Olivia asked.

"Tension central; mom is so nervous about Kitty coming home." Cassie answered.

"And how's Justin?" Olivia cautiously asked.

"The same." Cassie mumbled.

The two friends continued their walk to the high school. Olivia knows everything about the Walker family, seeing as her and Cassie has been friends since elementary school. Cassie sometimes felt left out of the sibling thing because of how much younger she was compared to her siblings; so her and Olivia were really close. Cassie she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind and she immediately knew it was her boyfriend, Dylan.

"Hey babe." Dylan whispered in her ear as he kissed her.

Cassie turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

"Um hi, still standing here." Olivia distracted the couple.

"Hey Liv." Dylan greeted her.

"How's it going?" Olivia asked.

"Good, now that I'm with my two favorite girls." Dylan answered.

"You're so lame." Cassie teased her boyfriend.

The three of them got to school where they met up with Olivia's boyfriend, Tyler. The four of them hung out in the courtyard with the rest of their friends until it was time for class.

"So where are we going to hang?" Tyler asked after school had let out for the day.

"I am going home to see my sister who just got home today." Cassie answered.

"That's right, Kitty came home." Tyler remembered.

"Yep, so I have to peace out." Cassie told them.

"Well tell her we said hi." Olivia said.

"Will do." Cassie bid them goodbye and headed home.

Cassie walked through her kitchen door to see Tommy picking up Kitty, and then Saul walked in and greeted Kitty too.

"Hey Kit." Cassie greeted her sister.

"Cass!" Kitty exclaimed and embraced her younger sister in a hug.

Just then, Justin walked in with some girl and started babbling introductions; it was obvious he was on something. Kevin then entered the room, carrying boxes of pizza.

"Kevin, this is Fawn. Fawn, this is Kevin. If you ever get arrested again Sweetie, Kevin is your guy." Justin babbled and then disappeared into the backyard to go swimming.

"They dropped the charges." Fawn stuttered and then went to join Justin.

"Oh Justin." Cassie sighed under her breath, worried about her big brother.

Kevin just brushed off Justin and greeted Kitty.

"Did he get a job yet?" Tommy asked about Justin.

"Just lay off of him tonight." Nora replied, protecting her son.

"Mom, you realize he's loaded right?" Tommy pointed out to his mother.

Everyone just shared uncomfortable glances with each other, and then went to doing their own things. Kitty and Cassie went outside to the pool; Kitty went over to Sarah and Cassie went to play with Paige and Cooper.

Later that night, all the siblings and their partners were hanging out in the Walker kitchen.

"Does anybody want to go out?" Justin asked.

"Are people with jobs allowed their?" Tommy shot a dig at him.

"Or is it for unemployed hipsters?" Kevin did a little teasing in his questioning.

"No, it's favored my veterans." Justin answered, and the kitchen quickly became awkward.

When Justin realized that no one was going with him, he and Fawn left.

"Obviously I'm worried." Kitty said the second Justin was gone.

"I keep telling you guys, he's okay. He's just finding himself." Julia spoke up.

"Yeah, I agree. You all do the Walker watch on him and who doesn't get spooked by that." Joe said.

"That's right, that's why I don't live here." Kitty commented.

"Well I actually live in the house, so the Walker watch is the worst for me." Cassie said.

"Aww poor baby. At least you can control what is said about you, unlike Kitty." Kevin replied.

"I don't care what is said about me. And you can always move to New York with me Cass." Kitty told her.

"Haha, don't tempt me." Cassie laughed.

Kitty had been offering to let her move with her for years, everyone knew it was just a joke.

"So you and mother, not a disaster right?" Tommy asked Kitty.

"I think she's planning on a sneak attack later." Kitty answered.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring your muscle, where's Jonathan? Anything you want to tell us?" Kevin inquired.

Kitty got nervous and asked Sarah if she said anything and both Kevin and Sarah started denying things.

"It's obvious she's embarrassed by us." Cass quickly diverted the attention away from Sarah and Kevin.

"Oh that is not it." Kitty denied.

Kitty went back to Kevin's comment though and the topic quickly got onto how they thought Jonathon was self absorbed and Kitty shouldn't be with him. Kitty started denying that Jonathon was self absorbed and it quickly turned into the fact that Kitty was a republican. Then Kevin started to try and make her feel better but accidentally let it slip that Joe and Sarah were in counseling, which he wasn't supposed to know. Kitty started defending her politics and she left the room. It was there where the night ended and everyone went home.

Cassie was in her room getting ready for Kitty's birthday dinner when she heard the door open followed by Kitty's voice announcing her and Jonathon's arrival. Cassie looked at the clock and let out a slight laugh. They were early and that would no doubt annoy her mother. Cassie finished quickly and headed downstairs; hopefully she could keep the peace. Cassie was about to walk into the kitchen when she heard Kitty tell Nora that Jonathon wanted to get married. She knew that going in there could help nothing now and went in search of her dad and Jonathon.

"Hey baby." William greeted his daughter with a hug.

"Hi dad." Cassie replied and embraced his hug.

"I'm Jonathon, you must be Cassandra." Jonathon introduced himself and held out his hand.

"Hello Jonathon, please call me Cassie." Cassie responded in a fake polite way and shook his hand.

Cassie could immediately tell that she didn't really like him much and started to believe what her brothers and sisters told her about Jonathon.

"Kitty talks about you all the time, I am so happy to finally meet you." Jonathon told her.

"I'm glad that I am finally meeting you too." Cassie replied, all the while thinking he was the biggest suck up.

Just then Kitty came back into the room and it was obvious she was upset. William and Cassie knew that Kitty and Nora must have had it out. William headed to find his wife while Cassie took the opportunity to go back up to her room. Cassie decided that she would wait in her room until the rest of the family arrived, which they did not long after. Cassie came back downstairs and took to playing with her niece and nephew. Playing with Paige and Cooper was Cassie's way of escaping the drama of her family, at least for a little while.

"Look at this pretty scene." Sarah commented as she entered the room.

"Hey Sarah. Mom and Kitty had a fight earlier so tensions are running high." Cassie warned her older sister.

"Ugh, thanks Cass. Why don't you and Paige go set the table, while I get my monkey man cleaned up for dinner?" Sarah suggested.

Cassie and Paige got up off the floor and went to go set the table and Sarah took Cooper to go get cleaned up. As they were setting the table, Cassie noticed her dad comforting her mom in the other room. She felt so bad that her mom was upset. Even though she loved her sister, the fact was Kitty wasn't here when Justin was over seas and she wasn't here when he came back. Kitty hasn't been home in years and she doesn't know the pain the family went through.

"Thanks girls." Sarah said as she walked into the room.

Sarah's eyes also drifted over to her parents and she let out a sigh. Cassie and Paige left the room, leaving Kevin and Sarah in the dining room.

"So did Kitty and mom have a…" Kevin started to ask.

"Fight? Yes, drop it." Sarah interrupted him.

The whole family was now at the table eating dinner. Everyone knew that Nora and Kitty had a fight but no one addressed it and random conversations filled the room. William gave a birthday toast to his daughter and it got the family on a quick discussion about Kitty's ex-boyfriend, Pablo.

"Who's Pablo?" Cooper asked.

"A name I never want to hear again." William answered his grandson.

Sarah then gave her toast, followed by the rest of the siblings.

"Kitty, you are my big sister in every sense of the word. There may be twenty-one years between us, but you are still my best friend. You taught me about boys, make-up, school, and even politics. I love you Kitty cat." Cassie gave her toast to her sister.

When Cassie was little, she would always call Kitty, 'Kitty cat', because she thought of cats whenever she heard her sister's name. If it had been anyone else, Kitty would have been annoyed but because it was Cassie she didn't mind and came to love the nickname. Then it was Nora's turn to give a toast. She gave a heartfelt toast and assured Kitty that she always and will always love her. After dinner, the majority of the family stayed at the table to just talk and goof around. William and Paige had gone out by the pool because Paige wanted to show her grandpa the stars that she as learning about in school. Then Justin suggested they play 'would you rather' and while some protested they ended up playing.

"Cassie, would you rather fail your senior year or live in solitude for a year?" Tommy asked his younger sister.

"Live in solitude, duh." Cassie answered with a laugh.

Everyone else laughed with her while Sarah's phone went off and she left the room. The game continued on, everyone having fun. Nora was in the kitchen putting the candles on the cake and lighting them and Kevin was helping her.

"Has anyone seen dad?" Sarah asked as she entered the room.

"Out back with Paige." Joe told his wife.

The group went back to playing the game as Justin asked Jonathon a question.

"Alright cake time!" Nora announced and she started carrying in the cake.

All of the sudden they heard Paige's voice calling 'Grandma!' from out side. Nora looked outside and put the cake on the counter.

"What happened?" Nora screamed as she went running outside.

The whole family flew up from the table and followed Nora outside. They all knew that something had happened. They got outside and saw Paige standing on the stairs, staring at William floating in the pool. Justin and Tommy jumped into the pool to get their dad. Sarah and Joe went over to their daughter. Kevin was holding Nora back and Nora was screaming 'William'. Fawn was standing at the back, not really sure what to do. Kitty was standing off to the sides by herself, looking on with horror. Julia and Cassie were standing next to Nora and Kevin, and Julia was hugging Cassie. Tommy and Justin pulled William over to the side of the pool and Joe helped them get him out.


	3. An Act of Will

"There's just no escaping him in this house." Kitty commented.

Kevin and Cassie looked over to her. The three of them were helping Kitty move back in.

"There never was." Cassie replied quietly.

Ever since William had passes, Cassie seemed to be withdrawn. She and Nora seemed to be taking it the hardest. Kevin wrapped his arm around his younger sister and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I shouldn't be missing him this much." Kitty said.

"Of course you should, it's only been three weeks." Kevin replied.

"You have a lot of stuff." Cassie told her sister.

"I know, I'm starting to wonder what Jonathon got in the breakup." Kevin added.

"We are not broken up. He wants be to be here and he wants me t do the show" Kitty argued.

"Sure he does. When does the show start?" Kevin asked.

Cassie really wasn't in the mood to here them talk about the show or Jonathon so she just walked right out of the room and up to her bedroom.

"I guess she doesn't care." Kitty commented.

"She's still trying to cope." Kevin told her.

Cassie went straight to her laptop and opened her paper for school she had been trying to write. She was willing to occupy herself with anything if it would get her mind off her father. A while later there was a knock on her door.

"I'm doing homework." Cassie told whoever it was, not wanting to be bothered.

"I don't believe you. Open up." Justin's voice entered her room.

A small smile appeared on Cassie's face and she went to open her door. She liked getting to hang out with Justin lately because he was the only one that wouldn't talk about their dad.

"Hey J." Cassie greeted her brother.

"What you doing, Cass?" Justin asked.

Cassie was the closest to Justin because he was the closest in age to her. The two of them had their own special relationship.

"Avoiding everybody." Cassie answered.

Cassie went over and sat on her bed and Justin followed her.

"Normally if you want to avoid the family, you should leave the house." Justin teased her.

"Shut up loser." Cassie smacked her brother, but in a playful way.

"I have an idea. We should go surfing." Justin suggested.

Cassie jumped off her bed, went over to her closet and pulled out her wet suit.

"I'll take that as a yes." Justin laughed.

The two of them headed off towards the beach for some fun that would hopefully keep their mind off of things for a few hours.

After surfing, the whole family was gathered at the table for the reading of their William's will. Saul and Tommy kept their positions at Ojai and Sarah was made president of the company. All personal assets were left to Nora and each child was given a trust.

"…with one notable exception. I apologize for having to be the one to say this to you." Kevin looked at Justin.

"What?" Justin asked.

"Dad set it up so after mom's gone, your share of the inheritance will be kept in a conservatorship." Kevin told his younger brother.

"Which is what?" Justin asked, annoyed.

"You'll get an allowance and Kitty will be in charge of it." Kevin answered.

Justin started ranting about it and Tommy took the opportunity to point out the fact that he was high which annoyed him some more. Kitty jumped in and tried to calm Justin down but he got up from the table and left the house. Cassie watched her brother leave, feeling bad for him. She really wished that her brother would get himself clean.

Cassie walked in the house and heard something clatter in the kitchen. She headed into the kitchen to make sure that everything was okay. She saw her mom standing on a chair with a broom in her hand and the smoke detector was broken on the floor. Her mother look terribly upset.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Cassie asked.

Nora turned her attention towards her youngest daughter and got down off the chair.

"Justin hasn't shown up for work all week so Manny has to let him go." Nora told her.

"Ugh Justin." Cassie sighed in frustration.

"I'm going over there." Cassie decided and headed for the door.

"I'm coming with you." Nora said.

The two of them got to Justin's apartment and were disappointed to find that he wasn't there. The two of them headed over to the TV station to find Kitty to get her to help.

"What's going on?" Kitty asked upon seeing her mom and sister.

"Justin hasn't shown up for work the past three days and he's not home. I can't find him Kitty." Nora answered, her voice breaking at the end.

"We'll find him." Kitty tried to reassure her mom.

The three of them headed back to Justin's to wait and see if he showed.

"We should have put one of those things on him so we could track him, like dogs." Kitty said as a joke.

"Don't get snippy with me." Nora told Kitty, as Cassie tried to stifle a laugh.

"I know what Jonathon would do, he'd…" Kitty started to tell what he would do.

"No one cares what Jonathon would do!" Cassie snapped at her.

Nora and Kitty were taken aback by Cassie's outburst. Cassie was always very calm and collected. Nora had kind of been waiting for a breakdown from her ever since William died though. She had been holding it all in, but she never though that Cassie would yell at anyone.

"Jonathon's not here and he can't help! Our brother is missing, so let's focus on what we can do and not what someone else would do!" Cassie was now in tears.

Cassie turned away from her mom and sister, and took a deep breathe to calm herself.

"Kitty, I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated." Cassie apologized for her behavior.

"It's alright kid." Kitty accepted her apology, knowing she truly was sorry.

Just then Kitty's cell rang and she quickly answered it. It was Kevin calling to say that he found Justin.

"Where is he?" Nora asked, anxious to find him.

"He's in jail in Oceanside. He was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct." Kitty informed her.

"We gotta go to him." Nora started getting antsy.

"Kevin's gonna meet us at the house since we have to drop Cassie off." Kitty said.

"Hell no! I am going with." Cassie spoke up.

Nora turned to argue with her daughter but then saw her. She was standing there, arms folded, with a determined look on her face. It reminded Nora so much of William and she knew there would be no point in arguing; Cassie had made up her mind.

"He needs to go into a treatment program." Kevin said.

The four of them were currently on their way to Oceanside to pick up Justin.

"I agree, even if it's just outpatient." Kitty added.

"A partner of mine just came back from Minnesota." Kevin tossed out.

"I'm not sending my son to Minnesota." Nora shot down the idea.

"He needs some kind of professional help, mom." Cassie agreed with Kitty and Kevin.

"I'm not saying he doesn't need help, I'm just saying now's not the time to theorize about your poor brother as if he was some sort of case study. What needs to happen is we need to get down to this Oceanside place and get him out of jail and take him home. Why didn't you tell me your father was gonna insult him like that?" Nora responded.

"Oh, what would you have done if you'd known?" Kevin questioned.

"I don't know. I could have prepared him. Could have come up with a plan. As it is you dropped it on him like a bomb. No wonder he's gone off and done something to himself." Nora answered.

"Are you serious?" Kitty asked, incredulously.

"Yes, certainly I am." Nora answered.

"Do you ever stop and think that some of this could possibly be your fault?" Kitty asked.

"Don't even go there. Blaming each other is not going to help anything." Cassie spoke up before it turned into a fight.

"No, she blames everyone but herself. It's me, it's Kevin, it's dad. Where were you in the picture, did you ever think about that?" Kitty kept going.

Nora turned and faced the window.

"I don't see any ocean out there. This is a terrible place to come to" Nora commented.

It was obvious that the conversation was over.

The four of them finally arrived at the Oceanside police department after what seemed like forever.

"He's really wrecked. Usually we like to let his kind dry out for the night in lock up. It reinforces the point." The guard told Kevin.

"Right, but we have driven all the way from Los Angeles." Kevin replied.

"There's a motel near by… see you in the Am, bring coffee." The guard dismissed him.

"Alright, thanks." Kevin walked back over to them.

Nora had no intention of leaving her son in lock up though. She dragged Kitty with her and used Kitty's show to get Justin released.

"The girls came to get me, that's cool. Where's Sarah?" Justin babbled.

"He's sitting in the back with you two." Kevin told Cassie and Kitty.

"Seriously, thanks for bringing the whole family. My day wasn't bad enough?" Justin yelled at Kevin.

"We were worried about you." Cassie tried to make him feel guilty.

"Oh and he had to do the right thing? Cause Kevin always does the right thing, except sleep with women." Just sniped.

"Justin, could you shut up for ten seconds?" Kitty yelled at her youngest brother.

"If you didn't want my help, why'd you ask?" Kevin asked.

"Cause I was in jail. I figured I'd call the family lawyer, I mean that's what you are right?" Justin responded.

"If your father could see this behavior!" Nora screamed.

"He'd what? Judge me? Tell me to get a job?" Justin retorted.

"He'd be so disappointed!"

"Disappointed? Who the hell is he to be disappointed? He's the disappointment!"

"What does that mean?"

Kevin, Kitty, and Cassie were scared silent. They had never seen their mom this way before.

"Forget it." Justin tried to walk away.

"Your father loved you more than anything on earth, you little spoiled brat." Nora was now crying.

"You know what love means in this family? It means you suck! It means…"

"Get in the car!" Kevin yelled at Justin, trying to stop the fight but it failed.

"…nothing you do will be good enough!"

"Oh you ungrateful child! You don't care about anyone but yourself. How did you get that way? You know what losing your father has done to me! And yet you take your life and throw it around like it was worthless, why?"

"Because I wish I was dead! Don't you understand that? I wish I died over there, mom." Justin was close to tears now.

Nora was shocked by Justin's confession and her voice dropped really low with her next statement.

"Well you didn't die. And I'll be damned if I'll stand around and watch you kill yourself."

Nora started shaking and Kitty went over to her mom and put her arms around her mother.

"Enough, enough mom." Kitty stopped it.

Nora broke down into tears in her daughter's arms and bawled.

"God, you guys are so freaking serious." Justin said and then walked away to the car.

Kevin and Cassie came over to Kitty and Nora and tried to console their mom also. Cassie glared at her brother as he skulked off to the car. She couldn't believe how much pain he just put their mom through. Cassie looked at her heartbroken mother, crying in Kitty's arms and she was now on the verge of crying too.

Kevin, Kitty, and Cassie were laying on beds in their motel room, flipping through channels on the TV. Nora was off trying to talk to Justin.

"I hate it when you dominate the remote." Kitty told Kevin.

"I'm curious to see if gay porn has got to Oceanside yet. I stay in a lot of hotels, this is research for me." Kevin replied, still flipping channels.

"Oh geez Kev!" Cassie laughed.

"Here we go." Kevin said as he found a porn channel. "'Thirty-something Inches', only $10.95. Shall we?"

"Ew, come on." Kitty reached for the remote.

"Wait, is that Jonathon?" Kevin teased Kitty.

"You know what, I think it is." Cassie joined in the teasing.

Just then Nora walked into the room and the three of them silenced quickly and looked at her.

"He won't let me in. I just want to apologize." Nora told them.

Nora looked so defeated and tired. This was definitely taking an emotional toll on her.

"Why don't you stay here and I'll try and talk to him." Kitty suggested.

"Thanks." Nora replied.

Kitty got up off the bed and left the room while Nora went over to the bed. Nora looked at the television screen and finally saw what they had on the TV.

"What the hell are we watching?" Nora asked.

"Meerkats." Kevin answered nonchalantly.

"These Meerkats are wearing no clothes. Give me the clicker." Nora said.

Cassie burst out laughing and her mother turned and looked at her.

"Cassandra, honestly this is so inappropriate." Nora scolded her daughter, but secretly she found it funny too.

"It's Kevin's research, mom. It's important stuff." Cassie laughed.

Kevin picked up a pillow and threw it at her. Nora just sat there and shook her head at her two children.

Nora, Justin, and Kitty were standing by the car waiting to leave while Kevin and Cassie were getting drinks. Nora and Justin had finally talked and they seemed to be okay.

"No other ocean has so many colors." Nora commented on the ocean.

"You can see where the blues change." Kitty pointed.

Kevin and Cassie came back over with the drinks and passed them out.

"So which route should we take back, pretty or the fast?" Kevin asked.

"Fast." Nora, Cassie, and Kitty said at the same time.

Kevin nodded in agreement with them.

"The pretty." Justin said.

They all turned to look at him and smiled a little. The five of them got into the car and made their journey back to home.


	4. Affairs of State

"Oh my God, he is saying everything I want to say to her, and in front of 400 million people." Nora giggled at Warren's comments to Kitty.

"Mom, it's not the world cup." Kevin retorted.

Nora, Saul, Kevin, and Cassie were all in the living room watching Kitty's show; "Red, White, and Blue".

"You're enjoying this too much Nora." Saul told his sister.

"It's unseemly mom." Cassie added.

"Why can't you ever meet anyone like Warren, Kevin?" Nora asked her son.

"For one thing he's straight." Kevin answered, in his usual cynical tone.

"Like that ever stopped you before Kev?" Cassie teased.

"Where do I sign on this one?" Nora asked.

Kevin and Saul had Nora going through papers because they were trying to consolidate at Ojai and they needed her signature to sell things off. Then Nora came across the papers for a house in Silverlake that she owned and she thought that maybe she might want to live there someday.

"It's a nothing place, with some bushes and a tenant. It wouldn't suit you." Saul tried to convince her to sell.

"I'll be the judge of that. Let's go tomorrow and look at it." Nora decided.

Saul became uneasy at the idea of Nora going to see that house and his attitude didn't go unnoticed by Cassie.

"Oh, he is so handsome." Nora was back to talking about Warren.

"For the billionth time mother, it is not a date." Kitty told her mother.

Nora, Kitty, and Cassie were sitting in the kitchen and Nora was pestering Kitty about her dinner with Warren.

"I don't care who dates him. It could be you, it could be Kevin but someone in this family should be dating that mane." Nora replied.

"What is this? "Fiddler on the Roof"?" Cassie asked.

"Alright I just mowed the lawn and I was stung by a bee but calm down, I'm fine." Justin said, sarcastically as he walked into the room.

"Dude you stink, take a shower." Kitty told him.

"Jump in the pool. No one has been in that pool for the longest time." Nora said.

"Mom, no one is going to go in that pool." Cassie replied.

"I talked to Sarah and Paige won't go in any pool." Kitty informed them.

Nora was confused by their statements but then it clicked in her head.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about Paige?" Nora asked.

"What we don't tell you could fill the library of congress." Kitty answered.

"It's very simple; we'll have a party. A great big party. When she sees everyone else in the water then she'll be just fine." Nora got the idea and then went with it.

"Yeah, because that will help her go in the pool her Grandpa died in." Justin retorted.

"Will you let me handle it? And please take these to your Uncle's office on your way home." Nora requested of her son.

"That's a lot of paperwork." Cassie observed.

"It's the company; Saul is consolidating." Nora replied. "And tell your Uncle that I might want to keep that little house. I love Silverlake and who knows…"

"Silverlake?" Justin interrupted her.

"Yeah, there is a struggling actress living there and I met her. It would be cruel to throw her out." Nora answered.

"You met her? When?" Justin stuttered.

"Yesterday, Saul took me." Nora responded.

Justin just left the room, leaving the paper work behind. Kitty and Cassie caught up to him to give it to him.

"Justin?" Cassie stopped him.

"I got to get going." Justin was eager to leave.

"What's going on?" Kitty asked.

"I got to shower and get this stuff to Uncle Saul's." Justin grabbed the papers and tried for the door again.

"Hold on, you're shaking." Kitty stopped him again.

"So?" Justin questioned.

"Are you on something?" Cassie asked her brother.

"No, I'm taking a break from that stuff." Justin answered and headed for the door once more.

"Justin, just tell us what's going on." Kitty demanded.

"That house that mom doesn't want to sell? The woman that lives there…" Justin started to answer.

"You're having a thing with her?" Cassie assumed.

"No, dad did. He had an affair with her." Justin replied.

"You are on something." Kitty refused to believe it.

"I'm not on anything. I talked to her and Uncle Saul knows too. It went on forever; she came to dad's funeral." Justin told them.

"And mom owns her house?" Cassie was dumbfounded.

"It's so twisted, you don't want to know. So just let me go before I go someplace else." Justin responded.

"Alright, go." Kitty told him.

Justin left the two of them standing there, shocked.

Later that night, Nora and Cassie were in the kitchen making dinner. Luckily for Nora, Cassie knew how to cook so she didn't need to be monitored like Kitty.

"Why don't you invite some of your friends to the pool party?" Nora suggested.

"No, that's okay mom." Cassie denied.

"Oh, you should invite Olivia, Dylan, and Tyler over. It seems like you hardly hang out with them anymore. I miss Olivia; she is such a sweet girl." Nora pushed.

"I think they're busy." Cassie said.

"Why don't you hang out with them all the time anymore?" Nora questioned, realizing it had been quite a while.

"I don't know. I guess we drifted apart." Cassie answered, not wanting to talk about it.

"Drifted apart? You and Olivia have been best friends since you were in first grade and you and Dylan have been dating for the past year." Nora kept going though.

"Dylan and I actually broke up a few weeks ago." Cassie informed her mother.

"You guys broke up?" Nora was visibly shocked by that piece of information.

"Yeah, I broke up with him. I just didn't want to be in a relationship anymore." Cassie replied.

"Why honey?" Nora asked.

"I really don't feel like talking about it." Cassie answered.

Nora respected her request for now and they went back to making dinner.

Cassie was lying on a lawn chair staring at the circus in her backyard. There were people everywhere, guests and staff. She tried to stop her mother from making it so extravagant but she had failed. Sarah was trying to get Paige to go in the pool but she still refused. Cassie couldn't blame Paige; she didn't want to go in the pool either. All of the sudden she heard her mom call out the name 'Holly' and quickly turned around to look. Next thing she knew, Justin was pulling her into the house and up to Kitty's bedroom.

"You guys tell me not to tell anyone and then you go and tell the rest of the family?" Justin questioned.

"I didn't tell anyone!" Cassie quickly defended herself.

"Sarah and I were having a very important discussion." Kitty tried to explain.

"Well guess what, she's here. Mom invited her here." Justin informed his sister.

"What do you mean she's here?" Kitty asked, stunned.

"She's outside drinking mojitos and wearing big jewelry." Cassie pointed to the window.

"Mom wants to hook her up with Uncle Saul." Justin added.

"Before or after he has a heart attack?" Kitty was in shock now.

"Well he certainly deserves to." Justin commented.

Cassie smacked Justin for that comment.

"That's not funny." Cassie stormed out of the room.

Cassie went back outside and sat down next to Julia.

"How's it going, kid?" Julia asked her.

"It's fine." Cassie answered with a smile.

"Nora told me that you broke up with Dylan." Julia told her.

"Ugh, of course she did." Cassie sighed in frustration.

"You know your mom, she likes to know everything. But I am curious as to why you broke up with him, and why you don't hang out with your friends anymore." Julia responded.

Cassie and Julia actually have a close relationship. Julia made it a point to know all of them when she and Tommy started dating and Cassie had really liked her. They would do girls day out and stuff like that.

"After dad died they were always asking me how I was doing, no matter how many times I told them that I didn't want to talk about it. I just wanted a little space to cope and they wouldn't give it to me. One day I blew up at them and told them I needed space… in a less than friendly way." Cassie informed her.

"Well you have the right to have some space, but they do care about you. I would try talking to them. And you don't have to be in a relationship with Dylan but he is a good friend." Julia counseled her.

"Thanks Julia." Cassie gave Julia a hug.

Then Paige came over and sat down with them. She wanted to get away from her parents who were trying to get her to swim. Then Tommy came over and sat down next to Paige and the two of them started talking.

"Can you hold this?" Tommy asked Julia, handing her his wallet and watch.

"What are you doing?" Paige asked her uncle.

"You just helped me figure something out." Tommy told her.

Tommy stood up and jumped into the pool, clothes and all.

"How is it?" Paige asked cautiously.

"Come in and find out." Tommy answered, holding his arms out to her.

Paige stood up and jumped into the pool and her uncle's waiting arms. She came up to the surface smiling.

"Cassie, how about you?" Tommy addressed his little sister.

"Nah I'm good." Cassie declined.

"Come on in Cass." Paige begged her aunt.

Cassie looked at Julia and Julia nodded her head, telling her to jump in. Cassie stood and stared into the water. She took a deep breathe and then jumped in, letting the water consume her.

Everyone was sitting at the table, eating dinner. Everyone was dead silent, except for Nora and Warren.

"Can someone pass the mango peach salsa?" Scotty asked.

No one made any movement to pass it to him and everyone still remained silent.

"Nora, what's going on?" Warren asked.

"What do you mean?" Nora questioned.

"Why is no one talking but us?" Warren clarified.

"Well, they all think that I don't know that my husband had an affair with that woman, Holly, over there along with a cunning little cottage built for two to go with it. Yes, Warren, you see, they all think that I'm living in the dark and they're all terrified that I'm gonna figure it all out tonight and in their panic and obliviousness and their eagerness to handle me, they've lost their very basic ability to conduct themselves in a social circumstance. It's very sad, but there it is." Nora announced to everyone at the table.

Everyone at that table was visibly stunned at Nora's revelation. At the end of her speech, Nora sent some glares at Holly and Holly quickly fled the house.

"Would someone please pass the mango peach salsa to Scotty?" Nora requested.

Kevin picked it up and passed it to him. Everyone was steel reeling from Nora's confession, and the kids all felt guilty.

Cassie was coming to talk to her mom but stopped outside the room when she heard Kitty and Nora talking. Nora said that she found years ago that he was cheating on her but that he told her it was over, then when she saw the deed to the house she knew he lied. Cassie turned around and headed out of the house and started walking down the street. Cassie was heartbroken by the information that her father was a cheater. She had always looked up to her dad and now the image of him was shattered. She was so mad that her father could do this to the family. Next thing she knew, she was standing in front of Olivia's house. She went up to the door, rang the bell and Olivia answered.

"Hey."

"Hey."

They both just stared at each other before embracing in a hug. Olivia led Cassie into the house.


	5. Family Portrait

**I'm not really all the proud or happy with this chapter. There really wasn't much to do with this episode in terms of Cassie and I probably could have left it out but I wrote it so I might as well publish it. And I am thinking about starting to change up the storyline sooner than I had planned to so it, but that depends on how I interpret the rest of the episodes. **

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**"What on earth would possess her to put up this picture?" Kevin asked.

All of the siblings, except Kitty, were staring at a family portrait that Nora had hung on the wall. The problem with the picture; Kitty was the only one not in it.

"Maybe Kitty won't notice." Tommy offered.

"How can she not notice?" Kevin retorted.

"She's the only one not in the picture." Sarah pointed out.

"And she lives in the house." Cassie added.

"Why wasn't she there?" Justin asked.

"She couldn't get away from New York." Sarah answered.

"Oh please, it was the Kitty/mom cold war back then." Kevin said.

"Mom and dad looked so happy." Cassie commented on the picture.

"Mommy, save me!" Cooper suddenly screamed.

Cooper ran into the room, being chased by Gabe.

"Please don't chase your little brother." Sarah told Gabe.

Cooper ran out of the room and Gabe turned to face Sarah.

"But he spit in my mouth." Gabe complained.

"I don't care, slow down Gabe." Sarah replied.

Gabe ran out of the room.

"Wow, tough step-mom." Tommy commented.

"Mommy, help me!" Cooper cried out.

Sarah left the room to go deal with Gabe and Cooper.

"They're just too young to appreciate the pleasures of spitting in someone's mouth." Kevin said.

Tommy, Justin, and Cassie just stared at him. Cassie walked away from the boys and into the kitchen where Joe, Sarah, and Paige were.

"Paigey, why don't we go out back and play with Coop and Gabe?" Cassie suggested.

Paige happily accepted the idea and the two girls headed out to the backyard.

"You know who I saw at the market? That crazy woman, Sloan Doddleson." Kitty said.

Part of the family was in the kitchen, just hanging out, waiting for Saul to get there so they could eat.

"Oh the loud golf lady?" Julia questioned.

"Yeah, that's her." Cassie answered.

"I have been dodging her calls for a month." Nora told them.

"Yeah, she is desperate for you to respond to some golf invite." Kitty informed her mother.

"Not that dreadful husband and wife tournament?" Sarah asked.

"Yes." Nora answered.

"It's such a pageant." Sarah commented.

"They want me to go because they want to honor your father." Nora said.

"For his golf game?" Julia was confused.

"No, for the man he apparently was but I don't have anyone to play with." Nora answered.

"Oh, Kevin plays." Kitty offered up her brother.

"No, Kevin doesn't" Kevin quickly denied it.

"Yeah, Kevin does play. He played on the high school golf game." Sarah retorted.

"Only because I had a crush on a kid on the team." Kevin defended himself.

The family started to tease Kevin over his old crush he had. The family discussion turned back to the golf tournament and everyone was trying to get Kevin to go. Nora denied the fact that she wanted to go to spare Kevin. Saul arrived and he and Nora left the room while the family berated Kevin for not agreeing to go.

"Please help me tonight Cass." Kitty begged her sister.

It was days later and Kitty had agreed to watch Paige and Cooper even after being assigned a big interview for work.

"Kit, I had plans to go out with Olivia." Cassie replied.

"You can do that any day. Help me and I'll pay you." Kitty offered.

"Fine." Cassie agreed.

Paige and Cooper were both very hyper that night and Kitty was trying very hard to monitor them and work on her interview. Cassie was helping her more with the interview than with the kids because Kitty still wanted the title 'cool Aunt Kitty'. Halfway through the night, Warren showed up to help Kitty with the interview.

"Well since Warren is here, you can go hang out with Olivia." Kitty told Cassie.

"Oh I see how I rank." Cassie replied, teasing.

Cassie took the opportunity and left to go to her friend's.

"Well hey there." Olivia greeted her best friend.

"Hello, hello darling." Cassie replied.

The two girls immediately headed to the living room to pick out a movie to watch and ordered some pizza.

"How was babysitting?" Olivia asked.

"It was fine, but I think Paige is coming down with a cold." Cassie answered.

"Aww poor girl. So how about we watch 'The Parent Trap'?" Olivia suggested.

"Yes!" Cassie quickly agreed.

Cassie and Olivia were having such a fun time that Cassie just slept over then the two of them went to school in the morning. Cassie was really glad that she reconnected with her best friend. Her and Dylan were friends again too but not dating, and they were both okay with that. After school, Cassie and Olivia hung out, did their homework, watched some movies, and then Cassie headed home. Cassie entered the kitchen door and found Kevin, Kitty, and Nora in the middle of a very intense argument. They heard Cassie enter the house and stopped to look at her and then the phone rang and Kevin answered it. It was Sarah and something was wrong.

"Joe and Sarah took Paige to the hospital. She's been asleep for a few hours, she's not waking up." Kevin informed them after hanging up.

Everyone was immediately frightened. The four of them ran outside, got into Kevin's car, and sped off to the hospital. The family was sitting in the waiting room, grateful that Paige was gonna be fine but she did have diabetes.

"Hey, I just heard, is she okay?" Justin ran into the room and it was obvious he was wrecked.

"Why aren't you at work?" Tommy asked him, standing up to him.

"Cause I just got the call about Paige, back off man. Anyway I go off early for good behavior" Justin replied.

"So, it has nothing to do with the fact that you're totally high right now?" Tommy asked, giving him a shove.

The entire family was now on their feet, shocked by the scene unfolding in front of them.

"Look, everyone else might sit around and feel bad for you, but I won't." Tommy told his youngest brother.

"I didn't ask for your sympathy and I certainly didn't ask for your help." Justin pushed him back.

"When are you gonna learn to grow up?" Tommy grabbed him by the collar.

Kevin quickly grabbed Tommy and pulled him away from Justin.

"Piece of work, just like dad." Justin commented.

"Justin, he is not like dad!" Cassie yelled at him.

Tommy turned around to face Justin and looked him square in the eyes.

"I'm not like him. Dad never stopped caring about what you did with your life. I do, I stop right now, I stop today." Tommy told him.

Nora couldn't take it and she left the room. Justin stared at the rest of his family, not believing what happened. Cassie walked over to Justin.

"Justin, you need help. You have got to stop with the drugs." Cassie pleaded with her brother.

Justin just looked at his sister and left.

"Ah you took down the picture?" Cassie asked.

The family was gathered at Nora's for yet another family get together.

"What are you gonna put there instead?" Sarah asked.

"Oh it doesn't need anything, it's perfect the way it is, empty." Kitty said.

"Oh no, no emptiness in my house." Nora denied.

"So what is going to go there?"

The entire family was at the park, taking a new family picture. They were all sitting in a picnic table. On the bench was Justin and Cooper was sitting in his lap, then it Cassie, Nora, Kitty and Paige was sitting on her lap. On the table was Joe, then Gabe, Sarah, Kevin, Saul, Tommy, and Julia.


	6. Date Night

**Thanks to this chapter, I am once again excited about this story. I am much happier with this chapter than the last one. Miss Kruschke was my middle and high school chorus teacher who passed away this summer so the little scene on chorus is for her. I hope everyone enjoys, read and review.**

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Cassie was sitting at her desk, on her laptop. The Santa Anas were blowing outside and it was keeping Cassie up. She used to go sit by the pool when the winds were blowing and her dad would sit with her. But now that her dad was gone she didn't want to sit by the pool, so she was just doing random stuff on her laptop. All of the sudden she heard a scream and a crash come from downstairs. She grabbed a baton from her closet and went running out her door and she ran into her mom in the hallway, who was carrying an umbrella.

"What was that?" Nora asked.

"I don't know. It's got to be Kitty." Cassie answered.

The two of them went running downstairs to the kitchen; Nora calling Kitty's name. They ran into the kitchen and turned on the lights.

"Guys it's…" Kitty started.

"Jonathon." Nora realized.

Nora was only covered up by a large t-shirt and she quickly started to pull it down.

"Cover your eyes." Nora instructed Jonathon.

Jonathon turned away and Kitty started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I knew where the key was and I just wanted to surprise your daughter." Jonathon apologized.

"Well you managed to surprise everyone." Cassie told him and went back up to her room.

"I'm getting a rottweiler." Nora said and went back to her room also.

Cassie was sitting in chorus when she felt her phone vibrate. She took it out of her pocket and saw it was a text from Sarah. She opened it up and it read: 'Jonathon is staying at the house… mom's idea!'.

"What's up?" Olivia asked, nodding to the phone.

"Jonathon is staying at the house and apparently it was my mom's idea too." Cassie answered.

"Oh jeez well that ought to be interesting." Olivia laughed.

Nora's opinions on Jonathon were very well known and they were not good opinions either. But then again, no one really did like him with Kitty anyways.

"Just be prepared, I'm probably gonna escape to your house if things get bad." Cassie warned her friend.

"Fine by me." Olivia smiled.

Cassie's phone vibrated again with another text from Sarah. 'And he's cooking dinner for everyone tonight in mom's kitchen'. Cassie showed Olivia the text and the two of them starting laughing. All of the sudden they heard the teacher bang on the piano keys and they looked up to her.

"Can we continue Miss Walker and Miss Garrett?" Miss Kruschke, the chorus teacher, asked them.

"Yeah, sorry Miss K." Cassie apologized.

"Thank you girls. Now let's sing 'Baby It's Cold Outside'." Miss Kruschke decided.

"Why don't you just come to my house until it is time for that dinner of yours." Olivia suggested.

The two were now walking home from school and Cassie did not want to go home.

"Good idea, I'll call and let mom know." Cassie agreed.

Cassie pulled out her cell phone and dialed the house number.

"Hello." Jonathon picked up the phone.

"Jonathon?" Cassie asked, not expecting to get him.

"Yeah it's me." Jonathon answered.

"It's Cassie, I'm going over to Olivia's to do homework. Let my mom know that I will be back in time for dinner." Cassie requested.

"Sure thing." Jonathon assured her.

Cassie hung up her phone and put it back into her pocket.

"Your mom is going to go nuts with Jonathon staying there." Olivia laughed.

"Oh I know it." Cassie laughed with her.

The girls flopped down on Olivia's couch and immediately turned on 'Grey's Anatomy'.

"McDreamy is so hot." Cassie commented.

"You know, you had your own McDreamy." Olivia replied, talking about Dylan.

"Oh come on, don't start Liv."

Olivia had been pestering Cassie to get back with Dylan ever since they became friends again.

"But you two are so good together and he still likes you and I know you still like him.

"Well I don't want to be in a relationship right now. We're friends and I'm happy with that for now."

"For now? So there is a chance that you and he will get back together?"

"Oh look, McSteamy is naked." Cassie changed the topic.

"Fine, we'll stop talking about it for now." Olivia agreed.

"Thank you. Now let's get a snack, I'm starving." Cassie replied.

Cassie went home for the dinner that Jonathon was cooking and it, surprisingly, wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Justin was sober, but Tommy still wasn't speaking to him. There was a little issue with Paige getting her insulin shot, but Justin came to her rescue and shocked the entire family. Nora ended up insulting Jonathon over his job and making Kitty upset with her. Other than that the dinner wasn't that bad.

The next day, Cassie was in study hall hanging out with Dylan.

"What are you doing tonight?" Dylan asked her.

"Nothing, just gonna be home." Cassie answered.

"How would you like to go see a movie and grab some dinner?" Dylan suggested.

"Oh I don't know, you know I'm not…" Cassie started to reject the idea.

"Come on, it'll be fun and in no way a date." Dylan pushed.

"Fine, I'll go only if we can see 'Poseidon'." Cassie told him.

"Done deal." Dylan smiled.

Cassie threw on her jean jacket and checked herself in the mirror. She had on a pair of dark jeans, a pink cami, and a jean jacket. She was actually looking forward to tonight and found it fun to dress up a bit for Dylan. Pleased with her outfit, she headed downstairs so she could go meet Dylan.

"You're not the only one who talks to Kevin." Cassie heard Nora tell Kitty.

"Well have fun on your dates tonight." Cassie said as she walked into the room.

"Kevin told you too?" Kitty asked.

"Like mom said, you're not the only one who talks to Kevin." Cassie answered.

"Why are you dressed up, Cass?" Nora asked her youngest daughter, noticing she was in nicer clothes than she would be if she were just staying home.

"I am going out with Dylan." Cassie told her.

"You're back together?" Nora was excited.

"No, we're just going to see a movie and get some dinner as friends." Cassie clarified.

"Oh, well have fun." Nora replied, slightly disappointed.

Cassie went out, got into her car and drove off to Dylan's.

"Hey there, pretty girl." Dylan greeted Cassie as she stepped out of her car.

Cassie smiled at his compliment and gave him a hug. She couldn't help but notice that he looked really good. Dylan opened up the passenger door open for her and she got in. She already felt like it was a date and not just two friends out for a night. Dylan got into the driver's seat and they were off to the movies.

"Are you ready for some upside down drama?" Dylan asked her.

"Huh?" Cassie asked, confused.

"In the movie, the boat capsizes." Dylan Answered.

"Oh haha, yeah I'm ready for the movie." Cassie responded.

"So where do you want to get dinner afterwards?" Dylan inquired.

"Um… I'm kinda in the mood for Mexican, that good with you?" Cassie suggested.

"Alright, that sounds great." Dylan agreed.

They got to the theatre and Dylan immediately insisted on paying for both of their tickets and their snacks.

"I thought this wasn't a date." Cassie reminded him.

"You wouldn't think anything of it if it were Olivia buying it for you." Dylan countered.

"Olivia would never buy my ticket and snacks." Cassie laughed.

"Alright, to make it even I will get the tickets and you get the snacks." Dylan decided.

Cassie agreed to that and they then headed to their movie. During the movie, Cassie found herself holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder.

"If we were ever on a ship and it capsized, I would save you." Dylan whispered in Cassie's ear.

"I would save you too." Cassie whispered back.

Dylan bent down and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. Cassie got a big smile on her face; she loved the way Dylan treated her. She was definitely falling for him all over again and was considering asking him to get back together.

Dylan and Cassie were standing in Dylan's driveway; they had just gotten home from dinner. It was very nice; they talked about the movie and school mostly but Cassie really wished he would have brought up getting back together. Cassie gave Dylan a hug goodbye and headed to her car. Suddenly Cassie turned back and called Dylan's name.

"Do you want to get back together?" Cassie finally asked.

Dylan walked over to her, took her in his arms and kissed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Cassie commented, but Dylan just kept kissing her.

Cassie got home to find that Nora was still up, waiting for her. Cassie plopped down onto the chair next to the couch that Nora was on.

"How was your night?" Nora asked her daughter.

"It was great; Dylan and I are back together." Cassie answered, smiling.

"Oh sweetheart, I am so happy for you." Nora gushed.

"And how was your date with David?" Cassie inquired.

"It was not a date, and it was a disaster." Nora informed her daughter.

"What happened?" Cassie asked.

Nora told Cassie all about her night and in return Cassie gave Nora all of the details about her own night.

"Livvy!" Cassie squealed as she ran to her best friend the next morning.

"What?" Olivia was shocked as her best friend pulled her into a hug.

"Dylan and I are back together." Cassie told her, excitement pouring out.

"Ah! It's about time!" Olivia screamed, equally excited.

The two of them jumped up and down, squealing and their hair flying around.

"I can't believe you didn't call and tell me last night." Olivia chastised her.

"Sorry, I was living in a very happy bubble last night." Cassie apologized.

"Oh it doesn't matter, I'm just so happy!" Olivia screamed again.

The two girls started their walk to school and met up with Dylan like always.

"Congratulations." Olivia gave him a hug the second she got to him.

"Thanks Liv." Dylan replied.

Dylan then went over to Cassie and embraced her in a hug and kissed her. Olivia started clapping at the sight and everyone laughed.

That night the Santa Anas were blowing again, only this time Cassie was sitting out by the pool. She wished her dad could be here with her again, but she was also really happy right now. She closed her eyes and let the winds blow around her.


	7. For The Children

All of the siblings, Joe, and Julia were over at Sarah's discussing the children's benefit dinner. Because of the money troubles at Ojai, they really couldn't afford to go this year.

"We have to stick together, that is the most important thing." Sarah told everyone.

"We should go on a road trip and vanish into the desert." Justin suggested, joking.

"Yeah for a year because that's how long it's going to take mom to stop being mad at us." Kevin replied.

"We have to stop this now or it will go on for the rest of our lives." Sarah responded.

"What is the big deal? It's a benefit for the children." Kitty asked.

"It's not the cause that's the problem." Tommy answered.

"You know I was kind of looking forward to it this year. The theme is 'Back to Broadway' and who doesn't love a musical." Kevin said.

"I'm with Kevin, I never got to go to one because dad always said I was too young and I do love musicals too." Cassie commented.

"We're not going to this thing. The company has to foot the bill and we can't afford it." Sarah snapped.

Tommy, Kevin, and Sarah started exchanging glances that didn't go unnoticed by everyone else. No one else knew about Ojai's major money trouble and Sarah almost blew it.

"We just can't be throwing money around right now." Sarah said, a little calmer. "I'm gonna tell mom, all you guys have to do is hold your ground. The tyranny of Nora's big night is over." And with that everyone toasted.

After the meeting was over, Kitty and Cassie stayed a little longer. Actually Kitty decided to stay and since they drove together, Cassie had to stay. Kitty, Joe, and Sarah were in the kitchen and Cassie was with Paige and Cooper. Cassie was going into the kitchen but stopped when she heard them talking about Ojai. Sarah was saying that they were going to have to sell of divisions of the company and it wouldn't be the same company that they grew up with.

"These financial problems that you're talking about, did they have anything to do with dad?" Kitty asked.

There was an extended silence and Cassie closed her eyes, waiting for the answer.

"They're not his fault, if that's what you mean." Sarah answered.

Cassie could hear it in Sarah's voice that she was holding something back. She heard Kitty say that she was gonna get going, so she quickly ran back to Paige and Cooper to make it seem like she hadn't heard anything.

Cassie and Olivia were sitting in Cassie's room and Cassie had just told Olivia what she overheard the night before.

"Wow, so you're having real money problems. You're not gonna lose the house are you?" Olivia asked.

"No it's not the house that's in jeopardy, mom owns the house. It's the company that's in trouble." Cassie answered.

"I'm so sorry Cass; these past couple months have been so hard on you guys." Olivia hugged her friend.

"I just wish my dad was here. I keep thinking that he could just fix everything with a simple wave of his hand." Olivia replied, a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Your dad was very good at keeping things under control." Olivia commented.

"Enough of this." Cassie wiped the tears away. "Let's start this theatre homework; we have to have this scene ready in a week."

Their theatre class was assigned a project; pick a partner and choose and prepare a scene from a movie or play. Cassie and Olivia immediately pared up and chose a scene between Ruth and Idgie from the movie 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. That had been one of their favorite movies since the first time they saw it so it was an easy pick. The hard pick was between who was gonna be Ruth and who was gonna be Idgie, but they finally decided on Cassie being Ruth and Olivia being Idgie. A while later, Nora was coming upstairs to talk to Cassie about finding a dress for the benefit. The girls were still rehearsing and Nora stopped when she heard them talking. Cassie and Olivia were currently on the scene where Idgie came to get Ruth after Ruth's mother passed away.

"And I'm pregnant." Cassie said in her southern accent.

Nora heard her daughter say this and panicked; she didn't know that they were rehearsing for class.

"You're pregnant, Cassie?" Nora asked in disbelief as she barged into the room.

Cassie and Olivia turned their heads to look at Nora. Poor Nora looked as though she was going to start crying.

"No mom, I'm not pregnant." Cassie quickly told her mom.

"But I heard you tell Olivia you were." Nora replied.

"We're rehearsing a scene for our theatre class." Olivia said.

"Yeah, the scene from 'Fried Green Tomatoes' where Ruth tells Idgie she's pregnant. Our new assignment was to pick a scene from a movie and that's what we picked." Cassie explained to her mom.

"Oh thank God." Nora let out a sigh of relief.

"What'd you need mom?" Cassie asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that you need to get a black and white dress for the children's benefit." Nora answered.

"I thought we weren't going this year." Cassie stuttered, worried Sarah never told her.

"I just talked to Sarah a few minutes ago and we're all set." Nora told her daughter.

"Oh alright. Well I will go dress shopping then." Cassie replied, confused.

"Thank you." Nora left the room with that.

Olivia went to say something but Cassie held up her hand and stopped her. Cassie whipped out her cell phone and called Sarah. Sarah told her how their mom had guilted her into it.

"Oh!" Nora popped her head back in a bit later. "Bring a date too." Nora then left again.

Olivia just started laughing.

"It's not funny." Cassie jokingly smacked her.

"You should have just let her go along thinking you were pregnant. That would have been a way to avoid the dinner." Olivia was still laughing.

"That just would have been mean. She looked so scared when she thought I was pregnant." Cassie was giggling a bit now too. "You are going to have to come with me and find a dress also." Cassie told her.

"Why?" Olivia asked.

"Because she told me to bring a date so I am bringing you." Cassie informed her.

"What about Dylan?" Olivia wondered.

"I'd rather spend the evening with you." Cassie smiled. "Besides, he's out of town this weekend with his dad."

"Oh so I'm just you second choice." Olivia feigned hurt.

"Shut up you ol' bee charmer, let's get back to work." Cassie said, back in her southern accent.

Cassie and Olivia were standing around at the children's benefit, waiting to go sit down at their table. Joe had accidentally let slip that the company was in real trouble and Nora was flipping out. She technically wasn't supposed to know and she wanted Sarah to talk to her about it.

"Happy that you finally got to come to this?" Olivia asked.

"It would be fine if the family business wasn't in jeopardy." Cassie retorted.

Olivia grabbed two glasses of champagne and handed one to Cassie.

"Drink this, it'll calm your nerves." Olivia ordered.

Cassie took a big swig and let out a sigh.

"Cassie and Olivia." Nora called them over to her and the rest of the gang.

Olivia and Cassie went over to where Nora had called everyone.

"I think it's time. Shall we make our entrance?" Nora said and led them to their table.

Cassie and Olivia sat down right away while the rest of the family looked around. Kitty glared at Warren, who was the host tonight thanks to Nora. Warren brought Amber with him and Kitty was jealous. Kevin was mad at himself because he had accidentally insulted Scotty so they were fighting, and Scotty was also working at the benefit. It seemed that the whole family was bent out of shape tonight, and Cassie knew that it was not going to be a good night. All of the sudden Saul came over with his date, Holly Harper.

"Nora, hi. You look so pretty." Saul greeted, giving his sister a hug.

Cassie and Olivia stood up and stood next to Nora and Kitty, creating sort of an alliance against Holly.

"Hi everyone, you all look so stunning." Holly greeted, being polite.

No one had any idea how to react, but luckily Warren had started the benefit.

"Oh time to sit down, don't want t be rude." Nora said.

Saul bid them goodbye, and him and Holly went to their own table. Awhile later, everyone had finally arrived and they had scattered off.

"Would you care to dance Idgie Threadgood?" Cassie asked Olivia.

"Why I would love to." Olivia answered.

The two of them laughed and headed out to the dance floor.

"See, now isn't this so much better than just chilling at your house watching a movie?" Cassie asked, sarcastically.

"You're the one that wanted to come missy. And it's not that bad, just ignore your family problems." Olivia replied.

The whole family was now seated at the table. Tommy and Julia were feeling mortified because they were caught having sex in the coat room. Nora was bent out of shape because her friend had accused her of hitting on her husband and then she had a run in with Holly. Sarah was mad at Joe for slipping up in front of Nora and she made a comment about not being perfect. Nora then took the opportunity to talk to Sarah about the company. Sarah and Nora had an argument about the company going under which resulted in Sarah leaving the table and Nora accidentally buying something in the auction.

"So what was that about ignoring my family problems?" Cassie questioned.

"Yeah… never mind." Olivia replied.

Cassie just nodded her head.

"Thing 1, Thing 2; we're going." Justin called to Cassie and Olivia.

They headed outside to where the rest of the family was gathered, except Kitty,.

"Care to dance?" Joe asked Sarah.

"No honey, I don't want to go inside." Sarah answered.

"Who said anything about going inside?" Joe took Sarah in his arms and started dancing with her.

Saul and Nora joined in, followed by everyone else. Standing outside, the twelve of them danced to the light music drifting from inside.


End file.
